vncnus Chapter 140
Chapter 140
Lin Feng got up at four o'clock, grabbed the ball, and went out. There was puddles on the road, so he took a few steps around, but his shoes still got wet, and mud splashed onto his trouser legs, dotting the ground.
When I arrived at the stadium, Zhou Jianguo was already there.
He stood beyond the three-point line, and shot—swish. Shot—swish. Shot—swish. The morning breeze billowed his tracksuit slightly. The morning light shone on him, casting a shadow on the ground that was much longer than usual, like a stretched-out tall figure extending all the way to near the center circle.
Lin Feng walked to the other side and began to throw.
The two of them threw the projectiles for more than half an hour each, until it was completely light. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the locust tree leaves, falling on the ground in dappled patterns, the light spots swaying gently in the breeze.
Zhou Jianguo stopped, picked up the ball, and sat down on the sidelines.
Lin Feng stopped, picked up the ball, and walked over to sit down next to him. The cement platform was a bit cool, and his bottom felt slightly damp.
Zhou Jianguo pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket—Hongtashan, a hard pack, the edges of the box a little wrinkled—he took one out and lit it. The smoke rose into the morning air, pale blue, mingling with the surrounding white mist. He smoked slowly and deliberately, taking a drag, letting the smoke linger in his throat for a moment, then slowly exhaling, like a seasoned smoker.
Lin Feng didn't speak. Zhou Jianguo didn't speak either. For a while, the two of them sat there, listening to the shouts coming from the breakfast stalls in the distance.
"About that sports school of yours," he took a drag of his cigarette, smoke slowly exhaling from his nostrils, "what's your decision?"
Lin Feng looked at the basketball hoop in the distance.
"It's not decided yet."
Zhou Jianguo fell silent.
"If you don't go now, they won't want you anymore," he said, his voice soft but carrying weight. "Sports school recruitment has seasons; if you miss this wave, who knows when the next one will be. Zhang Weiguo has been urging you several times, hasn't he?"
Lin Feng nodded.
"What are you afraid of?" Zhou Jianguo turned to look at him. His gaze was direct, carrying a frank and straightforward quality. "Afraid of delaying the programming?"
"There's not enough time," Lin Feng said.
"The idea that there isn't enough time is a false premise," Zhou Jianguo said calmly, but every word carried weight. "If you get up at four o'clock every day, you actually have a few more hours than others. Don't even mention the sports school; even if you add a part-time job, you can still squeeze it out. The question is what your priorities are, not whether you have enough time."
Lin Feng didn't respond.
Zhou Jianguo stubbed out his cigarette on the ground. The tiny spark hissed softly on the damp cement floor, emitting a wisp of smoke.
"Do you know why I come here to shoot hoops every day?"
Lin Feng looked at him.
"Because besides shooting hoops," Zhou Jianguo said, "I can't do anything else. My legs are useless, and as a teacher, I can only teach children. Coming here every morning to shoot hundreds of hoops is the only way I can still be connected to basketball."
He stomped out the cigarette butt, looked up at Lin Feng, and there was something complicated in his eyes.
"You have talent. Not the kind of talent that comes from accurate shooting—it's the kind of talent that comes from knowing what you want to do. My biggest regret in life isn't tearing my ACL, it's that after it was torn I didn't know what else I could do. But you're different."
He stood up, picked up his ball, walked onto the court, and shot two more times. Swish, swish. Swish, two swishes in a row. The net swayed gently, like a curtain being blown by the wind.